Highlights from Halliday's road trip through Southern Tasmania

Last weekend, Halliday taster Dave Brookes and I were among the key wine media invited to MONA for a 10-year retrospective tasting of Dr Edge wines. 

The label’s delightfully affable owner and winemaker Peter ‘Dredgy’ Dredge had gone all out for the anniversary tasting, because “in the 10 years that I’ve been making Dr Edge wine, I haven’t done shit as far as official promotion or trade trips or anything like that,” he said.

Peter 'Dredgy' Dredge.

Dredgy’s story is fascinating and one that we will go into detail on separately and soon. Suffice to say it was a joy to experience the evolution of Dr Edge over 48 wines (and a soundtrack courtesy of Massive Attack), and perfect preparation for a week in Southern Tasmania, where Dave was set to taste 200-odd wines in situ for the 2027 Halliday Wine Companion.

I love getting to visit wineries and vineyards, especially in regions as beautiful as this. A highlight was Stefano Lubiana Wines in Granton on the banks of the Derwent River.

It was super interesting to see the new-ish high-density vineyard. The vines, mostly pinot noir (mixed clones) with some chardonnay, were planted on their own rootstock at a density of 11,000 per hectare in 2019. While they’re a little while away from full maturity, the vines are starting to yield fruit – a bit of which ends up in Marco Lubiana’s wines.

Steve and Marco Lubiana.

Marco’s wines were among the 20 we then tasted in Stefano Lubiana's beautiful, Italianate cellar door. Steve, Marco and Marco's wife Phoebe took us through the entire range, from the Brut Reserve and 2017 Brut Rosé through the aromatic whites, chardonnays, pinot noirs – including the three single-vineyard expressions and the Sasso – and finally, a syrah, and a merlot/malbec blend, Chicane. Each wine was beautiful, and absolutely sang of place.

Another highlight was our visit to Tolpuddle, where we were met by cellar door manager Pip Anderson bearing two cans of palate-cleansing Cascade Lager on a silver tray. Tolpuddle wines need no introduction here – the chardonnay and pinot noir is world-class – and pair perfectly with a snacky yet substantial menu devised by chef (and 2023 Tranche Scholar) Sam Bray. Think local crumpets with caviar, Tassie scallops baked in their shells, and girolle-shaved Téte de Moine with pickled walnuts.

Tolpuddle's cellar door.

It was also really cool to see SISU, a new project by ex-Logan Wines winemaker Jake Sheedy. Jake bought the Coal River Valley property in 2021 and has transformed 25ha of it under vine, and built an enormous, state-of-the-art gravity-fed winery. A cellar door is set to open later this year.

Stargazer’s shiny new cellar door overlooking the Palisander Vineyard will also open later this year – next month, in fact. Samantha Connew says the plan is hosted tastings around a communal table (with space for 12), probably three times per day.

Keep an eye out for Dave's Tasmanian reviews over the coming weeks.

Order your copy of the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion today 

The 2026 edition of the seminal guide to Australian wine, the Halliday Wine Companion, is on sale now. Secure your copy today, or upgrade to a Vintage Halliday membership.